Preliminary Report States Plane Crashed After Second Takeoff Attempt

by Juan Sanchez

Federal transportation officials released a preliminary report on a plane that crashed after departing from an airport in Cookson earlier this month.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board released the first report on the crash Thursday. This comes almost two weeks after the aircraft went down in a wooded area a mile north of the airport located west of Highway 82.

Officials with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol identified the two individuals on board as Albert Demarco and John McCreary. Both are residents of Ozark, Arkansas.

According to the report from NTSB, the Ercoupe 415-C was forced to land in the area after experiencing a partial loss of engine power. Previous reports from KTUL state Demarco and McCreary sustained serious injuries in the crash.

During their investigation NTSB officials learned that the aircraft had already previously experienced engine trouble. A witness told them that it returned to the runaway after its first takeoff attempt.

"The airplane then taxied back to the departure end of the runway and took off again," the report described.

On its second attempt the aircraft's wings began to dip back and forth when it reached 100 feet above ground. The witness stated that it "pitched up and descended into trees."